An early shot of East Complex taken from "On Firm Foundation Grounded" by Carroll Engelhardt.

The construction of East Complex signaled a radical change for Concordia. In October 1965, it was approved that a men's and women's dorm would be built on the sixty-five acre area where previously only athletic fields had been. The facility would house 462 students and would have an attached food service. The reason why this was a progressive move was that it was a divergence from tradition. Like many other American colleges, Concordia had previously separated the male and female dorms to different locations. Women living in dormitories used to be constricted by a curfew of 7:30 PM on weeknights and 10 PM on weekends. In 1951, President Knutson extended curfews to later hours and in 1973, the student affairs committee fought to drop all curfews, a battle which they won. With the construction of East Complex, men and women would be living in the same structure, but in different wings. The project was finished in 1968 and cost 2.6 million dollars. It was financed largely by a federal loan from the Housing and Home Finance Agency. Each component received a namesake from generous donors: the two four-story dormitories were dubbed Hallett and Erickson Hall and were connected by Grant Commons.